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KingBartz ranks the 15 Super Mario 64 stages(WITH WRITE-UP !!).
Tiers DECENT TIER 15 Dire, Dire Docks 14 Snowman's Land 13 Wet-Dry World GOOD TIER 12 Bob-omb Battlefield 11 Jolly Roger Bay 10 Tiny-Huge Island 9 Cool, Cool Mountain AWESOME TIER 8 Whomp's Fortress 7 Rainbow Ride 6 Hazy Maze Cave 5 Tick Tock Clock 4 Tall, Tall Mountain GOD TIER 3 Shifting Sand Land 2 Big Boo's Haunt 1 Lethal Lava Land DECENT TIER These are the worst levels in the game, but still good and fun. I think it's difficult to put any stage at the bottom but these ones had to go. I think they are at least as good as the best stages in SMS, but that doesn't mean much. The List Ranked 15th - STAGE 9: Dire, Dire Docks This was very much the easiest stage to rank. Easily the least memorable stage in the game, it feels like they threw this one in at the last minute as an excuse to introduce Bowser's sub. The stars are ridiculously generic and boring. A repeat of the chest sequence, three beat the clock stars(two which are merely "get the cap and get the star" ones), red coin, and a swim through obstacles star. Also, if I'm not mistaken, this is the smallest stage in the game. Not much reason to play around in this one, and it's probably the most non-linear stage in the game(#14 on my list is right up there in non-linearity). Not to mention that it's a water stage. Ugh. Ranked 14th - STAGE 10: Snowman's Land This stage had its moments and I wish I could rank it higher, but I don't think it can stand up to the rest. The snow is fun but bothersome, and they put in a nice effect of making freezing water. Like most Mario 64 stages, the level has a tall area in the middle that the area revolves around. Unfortunately, that is the only stand-out in this stage beside the igloo. The stars are nothing that stands out. climb to the top, fight a bully on ice(probably one of the more frustrating stars in the game), an easy ice block puzzle thing, another easy one on the ledge, scattered red coins, and using the vanish cap in the igloo. Like DDD, this stage is also very small and non-linear. Plus getting your ****ing hat blown off is a pain in the butt and just stupid. I hate those invisible bag of coin enemies. This stage would have been great with some linear platformer star(I guess you could count star 1, but barely). Too bad the stage is frustrating more than fun. Ranked 13th - STAGE 11: Wet-Dry World I fell in love with this stage when I first saw it; then I tried to navigate it. The shifting water levels is a really cool concept, but lacks something in the execution. When I think of this stage now, the first thing I remember is trying to get back up to the top using those scooper robot things... It's nice that you can determine the starting water level by how high you enter the painting, but good luck figuring that out on your own. This stage deals with a lot of water, and I am somewhat biased against swimming stages in this game. It's just not that fun imo. The secret city made things interesting, but the stars in the stage are all fairly straightforward, excepting maybe the one where you have to walk on the five places. The stage has no cliffs, so there's no fear of falling, and combined with the lack of enemies scattered around, makes it feel a little too tame. Still fun times, but not very memorable. That rounds up the Decent tier of SM64 levels. Ranked 12th - STAGE 1: Bob-omb Battlefield I'm surely going to catch crap for this one, but I feel there's none other I can rank below this one. BB is great as a first level and really brings you into the game and teaches you how to play. The stars are entertaining and each is there to show you new skills you will need throughout the game. One thing I have to admire about SM64 is how delightfully smooth the learning curve is. The non-linear layout of the game allows you many choices on which star you want to take on, and there are always several options. Bob-omb Battlefield is a nice open stage that is easy and fun to explore, but overall not a lot to do there. It seems for most of the activities you go along the same path. Of course it is just the first stage so it cannot be blamed, but objectively there is not much that stands out from this stage. Ranked 11th - STAGE 3: Jolly Roger Bay TWO Stars where you have to open chests in a certain order in the same stage! I guess that maybe I don't blame Nintendo for doing that, as there isn't much else to do in Jolly Roger Bay. The last water stage to be ranked, and I can barely count it better than the others. It has a bright spot in the eel, as that thing was scary as hell when I first played the game. Also the cannon was fun to play around with in that small stage. I know I am biased against water stages, but imo there was so much potential for the underwater areas that was never realized. Every water level is too small to really get a feel for exploration, which would be very refreshing in a stage of that sort. The most involved star in this level imo is the 100 coin star, as that forces you to cover pretty much the entire stage to collect them all. Ranked 10th - STAGE 13: Tiny-Huge Island This is a great stage. Whenever I think of this one I always think of the Giant world in SMB3... but this stage probably isn't as fun as that game was. Although they implemented an amazing idea in this level, Nintendo could have done so much more with this. Instead they based the level around the tired CLIMB-THE-MOUNTAIN-IN-THE-CENTER format after which half of the game's levels take. There are good entertaining puzzles here, but this level always feels like there just isn't that much to do. Even so, Tiny-Huge Island is a fun experience. Trying to figure out how to navigate that windy gap had me scared to death when it didn't have me amazed. And I won't forget the first time Tiny Mario got eaten by the giant fish. This level has a lot of obstacles for its small size, making it more of a challenge then many of the other stages. The cave had me excited when I first entered it, until I realized there wasn't much more than grabbing the red coins and killing wiggler. I would have liked more exploration inside the cave. Ranked 9th - STAGE 4: Cool, Cool Mountain It was difficult to rank this stage so low, but from here on out, I absolutely love every stage that follows. I really like CCM, but there are a couple flaws that force me to place it lower. First, the snow gets old after a while. The fact that it protects Mario from falling damage makes falling from the top pretty harmless(of course they had to put in the hip-drop no damage trick in the game, making all long falls survivable). It's a nice gimmick, put I don't appreciate all of the traction and momentum issues that snow and ice cause. Maybe it's because I'm a kid from the desert or something. Second, the penguins piss me off; the fat racing penguin that always pushes me off the slide and the whiny babies who always runs away. Of course, I got kicks from tossing those thing off the edge, so I guess the penguins aren't all bad. That's enough about that one. Besides those two problems I have, this stage is outstanding. The slide is fun and great preparation for that other slide later on, and there are two stars to be gained there. It's the only mountain stage where you start at the top as opposed to the bottom, and there is no way to climb up the mountain the way you go down. Of course the teleport spot ruins that, but I guess you can't have everything. The last star is a nice challenge at the beginning of the game, I believe the first one to use wall jumping. I just wish they didn't have those flower-head things at the top to float your way down and cheat. This is the last "good" stage, and I love SM64 for having even the worst stages be okay. With half of the stages being outstanding, I consider the minor flaws in this first half forgivable. Ranked 8th - STAGE 2: Whomp's Fortress I was surprised at how much hate WF has gotten in this topic. I remember hating this stage when I first played the game, but only because it poses such challenges that are unique to the 3D Mario world. Besides Tick-Tock Clock, I don't remember a stage that frustrated me as much as this one when I first tried it. I was a 9 year old boy who got WAY too emotionally involved into the games I played, and this stage scared the crap out of me at first. It's the first stage to feature the bottomless cliff, and the stage starts with running across a series of obstacles that will push you or drop you off said cliff. Having been raised on 2D video games, adjusting to moving in 3D was a difficult process and resulted in countless plunges off those cliffs. These cliffs, coupled with the fear of heights I experienced at that age, made me scared to death of this level. As I became I little older I started to appreciate how well built this stage is. It's small, but the climb is challenging and there are plenty of opportunities to fall. The atmosphere that is established here is solid; nothing seems out of place in this stage. The owl is a nice little toy they threw into the level and provided a lot of fun. Funny story about that owl... I didn't know how to control it at first and didn't think it could be used to reach the star in the cage, so I figured you needed the cannon to reach that star. It took several tries, but i actually got the cannon to shoot me up there. The main reason that I enjoy this stage so much is because it is solid platforming. Almost all of the stars require you to jump along shifting, spinning, or moving platforms, and that requires some precision. I know I am biased towards the platforming stages a little bit, but that is what I feel that Mario is all about. I really love this stage and some of my fondest SM64 memories come from this one. Ranked 7th - STAGE 15: Rainbow Ride This course is fitting for the final stage in the game. It's a pretty large stage, and it is definitely unforgiving. Pretty much any mistake in platforming will cause you to fall to your death, and there are plenty of obstacles to avoid. I love this stage. Despite having one of the most annoying tunes in the game, this stage is a joy to explore and has plenty to do. The carpets are fun enough to ride and give the level a sense of pacing. The stars require some measure of skill to acquire, although a couple are just simple carpet rides. I've always been a big fan of the jumping puzzle for the red coins, too. One thing that I think that Nintendo could have done better with this game would be placement of the likitos. There could have been some better for those guys then on this level... I mean, seriously. Give me a level where I actually am challenged to avoid those spineies or something. This level has an abundance of coins, but the difficulty in going around the stage doesn't make the 100 coin star here too easy. And the cannon on this stage is way fun to play around with. You can go like anywhere with that thing. Try it. Ranked 6th - STAGE 6: Hazy Maze Cave Just coincidence that stage 6 is ranked 6th, actually. Another absolutely awesome stage here. The last 6 stages were so hard to order, as I regard them all almost equally. Hazy Maze Cave is interesting among all the stages in that it doesn't have any sort of "overworld" or whatever you would call it, connecting all of the different parts of it, and although not all of the stage is technically the maze, the level is very much a maze. It's easy to find your way around after a while, but when you enter the stage for the first time, you truly wonder how large it could be. And even then, this is one deep stage. Each room has something different to it, and each its own purpose. There is a sense of danger here throughout most of the stage, a lot of cliffs and flames and boulders and the haze and what-not. The stars are a pretty diverse lot, a couple requiring a bit of acrobatics. The red coin star is interesting, but frustratingly long if you try to use the moving platform. I like the maze. The way the camera works, it took me a while to find the exits the first time, and then still took some skill to grab the stars. I guess perhaps my favorite thing about this stage is the sense of exploration that I felt the first time through the game. It simply felt amazing. Ranked 5th - STAGE 14: Tick Tock Clock This stage is in my opinion the heaviest platforming stage in the game. I think it's kind of a shame that they included the option to stop the clock parts, as that really takes away from the difficulty of the stage. But even with the clock stopped, the stage is still a platforming challenge. Of course, experts make this stage look like the easiest level in the game, but it really can be a challenge. In my opinion, the 100 coin star on this stage is the toughest in the game. That being said, I can also see this stage as the most frustrating. I don't know how many times a tiny mistake as sent me falling to my death here. That little problem though, is easily made up by the fact that any Mario platformer fix can be realized in this stage. I love this level. It's always a fun time climbing up this damn clock. SIDE RANKING!! I couldn't fairly include the side stages, boss stages, or cap switch stages, so I will have a few separate rankings for these to pass the time. CAP SWITCH STAGES RANKING 3rd: Wing cap stage This stages is just a tower surrounded by red coins. Not much to it but to land on the tower and hit the switch. 2nd: Metal cap stage First time I played through the game, this was the hardest switch to find. The river with the current is a fun little challenge here; I wish they could have implemented that in one of the main stages. 1st: Vanish cap stage This stage is actually more than just one little area, which is enough to make me like it more than the rest. Not much to say about it though. There are some nice little jumping puzzles but that's about it. SECRET STAR STAGES RANKING 3rd: Aquarium Uh this stage is incredible. It's a giant box filled with water. Sad part is, my sister couldn't survive in this stage whenever she would play it. 2nd: Princess Slide The game likes slides. I think they were a pretty good idea, but I wonder where they got it. I don't believe any Mario game before this had anything like it. It took me a long time to figure out how to beat the time for the second star, however. 1st: Rainbow Cloud Place This stage was cool to find. A couple cannons and wing caps make for fun flying. I wish there had been a wing cap on Rainbow Ride, though. That would have been pretty sweet. BOWSER STAGES RANKING 3RD: Bowser in the Fire Sea The only reason I have this one the lowest is because of the lack of any sort of bottomless pit... the lava is far too forgiving in my opinion. But there are some fun segments here anyway, especially the last part. 2ND: Bowser in the Dark World Pretty short, but fun platforming with a few interesting obstacles. But strightforward and i like that. 1ST: Bowser in the Sky As opposed to the Fire Sea, This stage is completely unforgiving and therefore much more challenging than the others. Lots of tipsy or moving platforms, pole jumping and other nonsense. I really like this stage a lot. But I am kind of a platforming whore so you know... Category:User Projects